The sound of the machine filled the room.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRR.
It wasn't just noise.
It was pressure.
The vibration climbed from the floor—
to their legs—
to their chests—
as if something inside their bodies was trembling with it.
The blue server lights flickered endlessly.
But at the center—
the Dominion Core glowed red.
Bright.
Cold.
Alive.
Thick cables spread in every direction.
Binding the servers.
Binding the system.
Binding—
them.
On the massive screen—
the MBG map changed faster than before.
Blue lines disappeared—
replaced by red.
One city.
Two.
Ten.
Farhan stared at his laptop.
His hands were beginning to shake.
"…fifty percent…"
Lila swallowed hard.
"The servers are collapsing one by one."
Bimo exhaled slowly.
"…so this is the part where we destroy everything?"
Sinta answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
"…if we can."
Everyone turned.
The man in the hat still stood calmly.
Unmoving.
Unworried.
"…if you can."
CLICK.
The floor panels opened.
Metal compartments rose upward.
And from inside—
something emerged.
Robots.
Four-legged.
Red lights glowing at the front.
BZZZZZT.
Electricity lashed across the floor.
Warning.
Bimo raised an eyebrow.
"…seriously?"
Sinta wasted no time.
"Formation!"
WHOOSH!
Bimo moved first.
One robot tried locking onto him—
too slow.
Dika slammed into it from the side.
THUD.
Rani shoved a metal table forward.
CLANG!
Two robots were blocked instantly.
Tono vanished—
then reappeared above them.
CRACK!
One robot's sensor shattered.
Its red light flickered wildly.
Sinta leapt onto the server racks.
She slammed an emergency panel.
CLICK!
Part of the room went dark.
The robots—
slowed down.
Farhan shouted,
"The interference worked!"
But—
The Dominion Core didn't slow down.
It accelerated.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Its lights changed.
Brighter.
More aggressive.
Arga flinched.
The pull—
returned.
Stronger than before.
His lunch box dimmed for a second.
The nine rice grains trembled violently.
"…it's speeding up…"
Lila stared at the graphs.
Her face turned pale.
"The network energy is dropping drastically…"
Rani looked at the screen.
Green dots—
fading.
One.
Two.
Dozens.
"…those are the kids…"
Silence.
The man in the hat pointed toward the screen.
"Sixty percent."
He looked directly at Arga.
"…you're losing to time."
Farhan held his breath.
"…if it reaches one hundred…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Everyone already knew.
Arga stepped forward.
One step.
The pull dragged deeper this time.
Not just energy.
It felt like—
something inside him was being ripped out.
He stopped.
For one second.
And in that single second—
he saw them.
Not the room.
Not the machine.
But—
another city.
A child sitting quietly—
staring at a dim lunch box.
Another struggling to breathe.
Another—
collapsing.
Arga opened his eyes slowly.
"…this isn't just us…"
He stared directly at the Dominion Core.
"…it's connected to all of them."
Farhan looked up.
"…what?"
Arga pointed at the machine.
"It's feeding on them."
Silence.
Sinta understood instantly.
"…if this continues…"
"…every Guardian could collapse."
Arga slowly raised his lunch box.
The light returned.
Brighter.
Deeper.
"I'm not stopping it."
Everyone turned toward him.
"…I'm giving it too much."
Silence.
Bimo spoke quietly.
"…that does not sound like a healthy plan."
The Dominion Core reacted immediately.
Its red lights turned white.
Blinding.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—
Farhan shouted,
"The energy levels are skyrocketing!"
Lila stared at the readings.
"This isn't stable—this is overload!"
The man in the hat—
smiled.
"…finally."
Arga stepped closer to the core.
The pull became painful.
Breathing grew difficult.
But he kept moving.
His lunch box shone like a miniature sun.
The nine rice grains spun wildly.
Energy poured out of him.
And this time—
it didn't return.
It flowed directly—
into the machine.
Sinta stepped forward.
"Arga, stop—"
"…if it wants energy…"
Arga didn't stop walking.
"…then I'll give it so much it can't breathe."
The Dominion Core trembled violently.
Cables tightened.
Servers flickered uncontrollably.
Farhan whispered,
"…this is total overload…"
Lila's voice shook.
"If this continues…"
"…both of them could be destroyed."
Bimo swallowed hard.
"…the machine…"
"…or Arga."
No one laughed.
Arga stood directly before the core.
Light surrounded his entire body.
But his expression—
was strained.
This wasn't power.
This was—
weight.
And for the first time—
he wasn't just fighting an enemy anymore.
He was fighting something larger.
The system.
The network.
And himself.
On the screen—
the percentage kept rising.
72%
74%
76%
And in the middle of all of it—
Arga stood there.
Connected to the entire country.
Becoming the source.
Or—
becoming the trigger for destruction.
And for the first time—
no one knew—
whether he was saving everyone…
or slowly destroying everything instead.